Shia, Sunni, Kurds and Turks cooperated in order to protect Islamic Republic of Iran

West Azerbaijan province is one of two or three provinces whose jihad and self-sacrifice did not only begin with the outbreak of the Saddam imposed war, rather it began before it. People from many provinces enjoyed a comfortable and safe life, but when the imposed war (Saddam's imposed war on Iran) broke out their youth fled to join the battle; however, from the first day of the Revolution, West Azerbaijan – like Kurdistan and a number of other provinces, there are a number of provinces like this — was involved with issues that required fighting and jihad.

Furthermore, West Azerbaijan stood firm in the face of all events; and it most definitely engaged in struggles. West Azerbaijan benefitted from good and pious youth. I knew the late Shahid Mahdi Bakeri before the Revolution. He was a student of Tabriz University. He went to Mashhad with one of our friends who was also a student at Tabriz University. It was summertime when I was staying at one of Mashhad's yilaqs [a cool place where one stays for summer]. They arrived at this yilaq, and I met him there. He was a diligent, revolutionary, and wise individual who perfectly understood the issues and conditions of the country. As soon as the Revolution had launched and the subsequent events took place, they preserved the scene. They showed their complete presence on the scene. This proves their vigilance...

The important point is that Shia, Sunni, Kurds and Turks cooperated with one another in that arena of West Azerbaijan. I once went to Mahabad. In the meeting that I had with the people of Mahabad, that great Sunni scholar from Oshnavieh – the late Qazi Khazri who was my friend – managed to make it to Mahabad despite the fact that he was old and at an advanced age. He said that he had come to deliver a speech there. He stood up, delivered a speech, and he praised Imam Khomeini (may God bestow paradise on him) with very good words and descriptions. He also praised the officials of the country.

Everyone, without a doubt, cooperated with one another until they managed to carry that heavy load to the destination. Later on, they suffered serious damages. I do not think that there is any area in our country which has suffered the same damage that Sardasht did: the chemical bombardment of a city by Saddam forces is a very shocking event. However, the people showed patience and endurance. They managed to endure those events. This shows the greatness of the people.

During wartime, too, they worked hard and endeavored. The dear martyrs — whom you mentioned and many other martyrs who were not from that area, but who were martyred in West Azerbaijan — all worked extremely hard. It was an arena of fighting and endeavoring. The country truly needs to preserve and revive the memory of those dear martyrs. Everyone should pay attention to the issue of reviving the memory of martyrs, which is not a local and regional issue particular to a specific people and to a specific period of time. We always need this, and you should not allow this memory to grow old.